The Battle of May Island

The Battle of May Island refers to a series of mishaps that occurred during Operation E.C.1 in 1918. It was a disastrous series of accidents among Royal Navy ships on their way from Rosyth in Scotland to fleet exercises in the North Sea, and it was named after the nearby Isle of May. Five collisions occurred between eight vessels on the misty night of January 31 to February 1, 1918. Two submarines were lost, along with three other submarines and a light cruiser. The Royal Navy lost 104 men in total. Although it occurred during the First World War, it was a completely unintentional tragedy, with no enemy forces present. As a result, it was not a battle and was only referred to as such with dark humour.

The subsequent investigation and court martial were closely guarded secrets, with much of the information not being made public until the 1990s. Sonar images of the wrecks of the two submarines, K-4 and K-17, sunk during the accident were published in 2011 by surveyors conducting a detailed preparatory survey of the sea floor for the Neart Na Gaoithe offshore wind farm.

Around 40 naval vessels left Rosyth on the Firth of Forth, Scotland, in the afternoon, bound for Scapa Flow in Orkney, where the Grand Fleet exercise, EC1, would take place the next day.

The ships included the 5th Battle Squadron, which consisted of three battleships escorted by destroyers, the 2nd Battlecruiser Squadron, which consisted of four battlecruisers and their destroyers, two cruisers, and two flotillas of K-class submarines, each led by a light cruiser. The K class submarines were created specifically for use with a battle fleet. They were large boats for their time, measuring 339 feet (103 meters) in length, and were powered by steam turbines, allowing them to keep up with the fleet by traveling at 24 knots on the surface.

The two flotillas were the 12th Submarine Flotilla, consisting of HMS K3, K4, K6 and K7 led by HMS Fearless and the 13th Submarine Flotilla, led by HMS Ithuriel composed of K11, K12, K14, K17 and K22. It's considered one of the historical disasters that people tried to cover up.

Date: 31 January – 1 February 1918
Location: Waters off the Isle of May

Type: Naval accident
Cause: Human Error, Weather, Mechanical Failure

Outcome:

• Total deaths: 105
• 2 subs sunk
• 4 subs damaged
• 1 Scout cruiser damaged

Deaths:

• K4 with 55 dead
• K17 with 48 dead
• K14 with 2 dead